Songs By Guys Named Carl

Here's a bunch of songs performed by guys named Carl (not Karl). Why? Well, why not? For those of you who care, I've also written some pithy commentary for each song. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Carl Reiner  ~  "Pagliacci"  (Not bad for a 91-year-old comedian who never sang opera in public until that very night.)

2)  Carl Douglas  ~  "Kung Fu Fighting"  (I know I just posted this song in my "Popular Songs of 1975" collection a few days ago, but this post wouldn't be complete without a song by this guy – and let's be honest, did he really have any other decent songs worth including?)

3)  Carl Thomas  ~  "My First Love"  (This is some real R & B right here. Smooth tune!)

4)  Carl Anderson  ~  "Superstar"  (I've never seen this musical, and I'm honestly not sure if I'd want to. But Anderson sings his heart out on this number, so here it is.)

5)  Max Carl  ~  "The Circle"  (I don't specifically remember this song from the mid-'80s, but it's a classic representation of that iconic decade.)

6)  Carl Smith  ~  "Don't Just Stand There"  (Speaking of classics…here's a terrific, toe-tappin' tune from "Mister Country" himself)

7)  Carl Hall  ~  "What About You?"  (How have I never heard of this guy before? Soul music at its finest!)

8)  Carl Henry  ~  "Dim The Lights"  (Well, alrighty then…)

9)  Carl King  ~  "Out Of My Depth"  (A mid-'60s hit that's all but forgotten these days. Worth a listen!)

Video wouldn't load properly – click link to view:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzwpyvs02Lw

10)  The Beach Boys  ~  "Good Vibrations"  (With Carl Wilson on lead vocals…during the verses, at least.)

11)  Carl Perkins  ~  "Blue Suede Shoes"  (You thought Elvis Presley came out with this song? Nope, that would be this guy.)

12)  Carl Gardner ft. Jewel Akens & David Somerville  ~  "Young Blood"  (In earlier years, Gardner was the lead singer of The Coasters, in case you didn't know. [I didn't.])

13)  Carl Wayne & Roy Wood  ~  "Flowers In The Rain"  (Well, this was…interesting. Not a bad way. Just…in a way.)

14)  Carl Belew  ~  "Lonely Street"  (Back when country music was called country-and-western music, and for good reason. This song sounds like it was made to play while strumming a guitar around the campfire or while riding a horse across the desert.)

15)  Carl Carlton  ~ "She's A Bad Mama Jama"  (Would you believe me if I told you this song was nominated for a Grammy? Yep. I'm shocked, too.)

16)  Carl Jackson  ~  "Foggy Mountain Breakdown"  (Are you ready for some bluegrass?)

17)  Carl Espen  ~  "Silent Storm"  (Wow, what a voice! Who else are they hiding from us in Norway?)

18)  Vicious Rumors  ~  "Don't Wait For Me"  (Fairly typical late-'80s/early-'90s metal song – I'm not knocking it – by a band with a lead singer named Carl Albert.)

19)  The Buckinghams  ~  "Don't You Care"  (A great song by a classic rock band whose lead singer was Carl Giammarese.)

20)  Carl Butler and Pearl  ~  "Don't Let Me Cross Over" / "Just Thought I'd Let You Know"  (Cool songs, but why are they wearing those ugly curtains?)

21)   Carl Carlton and the Songdogs ft. Eric Burdon & Max Buskohl  ~  "For What It's Worth"  (A refreshing take on a classic '60s rock song.)

22)  Carl Riseley  ~  "This Guy's In Love With You"  (Not bad. Probably best described as a poor man's Michael Bublé.)

23)  Carl Lewis  ~  "Break It Up"  (A prime example of why certain athletes should never be allowed to become recording artists. It's not awful, but it's not good, either. And the video….well, just watch it.)

24)  Carl Barât and The Jackals  ~  "Glory Days"  (I don't know anything about this guy, but the song and video are pretty intense. In a good way.)

25)  Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer  ~  "Come Home, Father"  (Ah, the beautiful dulcet tones of Little Rascal "Alfalfa"…there's just nothing like it! Thankfully.)

"33" Songs

Well, whaddyaknow! As it turns out, there are a ton of songs with the number "33" (or "Thirty-Three") in their titles or somewhere in their lyrics. Accordingly, I was able to gather 33 songs here in honor of the fact that my wife is 33 weeks pregnant with our daughter today. Enjoy it, okay?  ~  JH

1)  Coheed and Cambria  ~  "33"

2)  Five For Fighting  ~  "100 Years"

3)  The Gaslight Anthem  ~  "Blue Jeans And White T-Shirts"

4)  Sinead O'Connor  ~  "33"

5)  Demon Hunter  ~  "Not Ready To Die"

6)  Sanctus Real  ~  "33"

7)  Counting Crows  ~  "All My Friends"

8)  Miranda Lambert  ~  "What About Georgia?"

9)  Iron & Wine  ~  "Peng! 33"

10)  Blue October  ~  "Hate Me"

11)  Flame ft. Lecrae & John Reilly  ~  "Joyful Noise"  (Does that opening riff sound familiar? It probably should. Katy Perry allegedly "hijacked" it without permission and tweaked it a bit for her hit song, "Dark Horse." There's even a lawsuit over this – look it up.)

12)  G. Hannelius  ~  "4:45"

13)  Kris Kristofferson  ~  "The Pilgrim, Chapter 33"

14)  TobyMac  ~  "Thankful For You"

15)  J. Moss  ~  "Operator"

16)  Little Big Town  ~  "Vapor"

17)  Heartland  ~  "Mustache"  (I can't believe this is even a real song. Hilarious!)

18)  Petra  ~  "Enter In"

19)  John Cage  ~  "4'33""  (This is the dumbest "music" I've ever [not] heard in my entire life. And I've heard a lot.)

20)  The Pretenders  ~  "Middle Of The Road"

21)  Dwight Yoakam  ~  "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues"

22)  Gov't Mule  ~  "Slow Happy Boys"

23)  Randy Travis  ~  "Raise Him Up"

24)  Nanci Griffith  ~  "I Wish It Would Rain"

25)  Vince Gill & Guy Clark  ~  "Almost Home"

26)  The Clarks  ~  "Irene"

27)  Elvis Costello  ~  "45"

28)  Belinda Carlisle  ~  "Valentine"

29)  Lonnie Donegan  ~  "The Grand Coulee Dam"

30)  Rancid  ~  "Collision Course"

31)  Shovels & Rope  ~  "Hail Hail"

32)  The Smashing Pumpkins  ~  "Thirty-Three"

33)  Judy Garland  ~  "The Boy Next Door"

Popular Songs Of 1955, Vol. 2

Here's part 2 of 2 in a sonically, if not altogether visually impressive collection of hit songs from 1955. It was hard to find live performances or movie clips for the majority of the songs from this era, but I included them whenever possible. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Elvis Presley  ~  "Baby, Let's Play House"

2)  Don Cherry  ~  "Band Of Gold"

3)  Julie London  ~  "Cry Me A River"

4)  Chuck Berry  ~  "Maybellene"

5)  Joni James  ~  "How Important Can It Be?"

6)  Smiley Lewis  ~  "I Hear You Knockin'"

7)  Doris Day  ~  "Everybody Loves My Baby" / "Mean To Me"

8)  Gogi Grant  ~  "Suddenly There's A Valley"

9)  Patti Page  ~  "Croce Di Oro (Cross Of Gold)"

10)  LaVern Baker & The Gliders  ~  "Tweedle Dee"

11)  The El Dorados  ~  "At My Front Door"

12)  Little Richard  ~  "Tutti Frutti"

13)  Big Joe Turner  ~  "Flip, Flop, And Fly"

14)  Eddie Fisher  ~  "I Need You Now"

15)  Al Hibbler  ~  "Unchained Melody"

16)  Dean Martin  ~  "Innamorata"

17)  Peggy Lee  ~  "He's A Tramp"

18)  Danny Kaye  ~  "Life Could Not Better Be"

19)  Fred Astaire  ~  "Something's Gotta Give"

20)  Gwen Verdon  ~  "Whatever Lola Wants"

Popular Songs Of 1955, Vol. 1

If you thought I'd forgotten about this ongoing series of throwback songs from decades past, then you would most certainly be wrong. Here's Vol. 1 (of 2) of songs that were popular some fifty years ago. If you're old enough to remember when these songs came out, then you're....well...you're old! But wise! I'm sure you're quite wise, too! Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Pérez Prado  ~  "Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White"

2)  Mitch Miller & The Gang  ~  "The Yellow Rose Of Texas"

3)  Roger Williams  ~  "Autumn Leaves"

4)  Fess Parker  ~  "Ballad Of Davy Crockett"

5)  The Four Aces  ~  "Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing"

6)  McGuire Sisters  ~  "Sincerely"

7)  Fats Domino  ~  "Ain't That A Shame"

8)  Johnny Maddox  ~  "The Crazy Otto Medley"

9)  Frank Sinatra  ~  "You're Sensational"

10)  Frankie Laine  ~  "A Woman In Love"

11)  The Fontane Sisters  ~  "Hearts Of Stone"

12)  The Four Lads  ~  "Moments To Remember"

13)  Joan Weber  ~  "Let Me Go, Lover!"

14)  Nat King Cole  ~  "A Blossom Fell"

15)  Perry Como  ~  "Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So)"

16)  Gisele MacKenzie  ~  "Hard To Get"

Video wouldn't load properly – click link to view:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJa7PWoiAqM

17)  The Ames Brothers  ~  "The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane"

18)  Jaye P. Morgan  ~  "That's All I Want From You"

19)  The Platters  ~  "The Great Pretender"

20)  Somethin' Smith & The Redheads  ~  "It's A Sin To Tell A Lie"